Dale Brecknell

Dale Heron Brecknell

Peacefully on Wednesday, July 30, 2014. Dale Brecknell, formerly of Bagot, Manitoba passed away at the Portage District General Hospital at the age of 91 years.

Dale was predeceased by wife Melba; parents Edgar and Della; sisters Faye Bos and Eva Wright; father and mother in-law Norman and Mildred McDonald.  He is survived by his son Bernie (Linda) Brecknell, son James (Janette) Brecknell and their children and grandchildren and son Ed Brecknell and granddaughters Jennifer Boychuk, Carolynn Brecknell; sisters and brothers-in-law Dale McDonald, Leila Bawoll, Jeanette Burke and Cliff Wright; numerous nieces, nephews, family, friends and special friend Lorna.

Dale was born on the farm near Drake, Saskatchewan on November 4, 1922.  The family moved to a farm near Pelly, Saskatchewan in 1927. From an early age Dale spent many hours on horseback, working livestock on the farm and for others.  He worked at a lumber camp as a teamster in his later teens.  Dale and a couple friends “rode the rails” for a while one summer.  In his younger years he did very well at softball and tennis.  In April 1942 he enlisted in the army and was sent to Kingston, Ontario to become a Motorcycle Dispatch Rider.  Dale served in the Signal Corp. in the U.K., Sicily, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany and Holland.  He aided in delivering food to the Dutch civilians.  Dale arrived home New Year’s Eve in 1946.  After the war he worked as a construction labourer on grain elevators; it wasn’t long before he had his own crew.    The company Dale worked for was Harper Construction from Winnipeg which branched out to different types of construction.  He was given the first jobs on all new types of construction including bridges, schools, water treatment plants, large reservoirs and others in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  Dale met Melba and they were married in Portage in 1947.   In 1962 Dale bought a farm in Bagot where the family moved.  In 1970 he began full time farming, enjoying raising pure bred Charlois cattle.  Several of his steers were 4H champions at the MacGregor and Portage Fairs.  Dale helped his sons with building projects through the years.  In the later years he kept busy by making pickles and cooking as well as watching baseball, softball and curling.  Dale enjoyed talking to the students at several schools about his war time experiences through the Memory Project.  He was a member of the Portage Odd Fellows Lodge #3 for many years. Dale moved from the farm to the Odd Fellows Tower recently and made many friends. He enjoyed playing cards, especially with his friend Larry Lilley and helping with Saturday afternoon Bingos.

Visitation and viewing will take place on Friday, August 1, 2014 from 7 to 8 pm at McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel.  Funeral Service will be held at McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel on Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 2:00 pm led by Wilma Shirriff, followed by interment at the West Prospect Cemetery.

As expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Dale’s memory to the West Prospect Cemetery, c/o Pat Yuill, RR2, Box 13, Portage la Prairie, MB, R1N 3A2.

A tree will be planted in memory and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel.  204-857-4021 www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com